Ronit Ben Ari

Project Director, Jaffa Institute’s Beit Ruth Girls Hostel

Ronit graduated from the Hebrew University with a BA having studied sociology, anthropology and political science. She went on to earn her Master Degree in Criminology from Tel Aviv University. Her thesis investigated the plight of battered women and was the first empirical research done on the subject in Israel. From 1983-2000, she managed the Department for the Prevention of Family Violence at Na’amat Israel, the largest and leading Women’s Movement in Israel, where she established the first crisis hotline for women in Israel. From 2000-2003 Ronit served as the Director of The Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women in the Office of the Prime Minister, working with both Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. Ronit’s responsibility as Project Director is to develop and lead Beit Ruth’s coordinated therapeutic program. Additionally, Ronit has a weekly radio program every Tuesday night on the Israel National Broadcast on ‘Violence and the Family’ and ‘Violence and Society’.